Victoria & Abdul

29 April 2019

Victoria & Abdul 2017

• Director: Stephen Frears
• Based on book by Shrabani Basu
• Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Tim Pigott-Smith, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Gambon, Paul Higgins, Olivia Williams, Fenella Woolgar, Ruth McCabe, Simon Callow
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Judi Dench  –The Hollow Crown, Spectre, Hotel Marigold 2, Vicious, Philomena, Hotel Marigold, My Week with Marilyn, Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, Jane Eyre, Cranford, Nine, Quantum of Silence, Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale, Mrs Henderson Presents, Ladies in Lavender, Die Another Day, The Shipping News, Chocolat, The World is Not Enough, Tea with Mussolini, Shakespeare in Love, Tomorrow Never Dies, Mrs Brown, Hamlet, Golden Eye, Middlemarch, Henry V, A Handful of Dust, A Room with a View, Macbeth,
• Tim Pigott-Smith – Jupiter Ascending, Bletchley Circle, Alice in Wonderland, Quantum of Solace, V for Vendetta, Gangs of New York, The Remains of the Day
• Eddie Izzard – Valkyria, Across the Universe, Romance & Cigarettes, Velvet Goldmine
• Adeel Akhtar – Unforgotten, The Night Manager, River
• Michael Gambon – Fortitude, The Hollow Crown, Harry Potter, Quirke, The Quartet, Doctor Who, The King’s Speech, The Book of Eli, Cranford and a lot of others
• Paul Higgins – Case Histories, In the Loop, Red Road, Beautiful Creatures
• Olivia Williams – Hanna, The Ghost Writer, An Education, Tara Road, To Kill a King, Born Romantic, Rushmore
• Fenella Woolgar – Mr Turner, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Case Studies, Doctor Who, Wah-Wah, Vera Drake, Bright Young Things
• Ruth McCabe – Philomena, Good Vibrations, Inside I’m Dancing, Intermission, Titanic Town, Circle of Friends, Takin’ Over the Asylum, My Left Foot
• Simon Callow – Doctor Who, Bright Young Things, Shakespeare in Love, Four Weddings and a Funeral, A Room with a View, Amadeus
• Why? Judi Dench, the subject
• Seen: 28 April 2019

      

       Due to circumstances beyond his control young Abdul (Fazal) is brought from his native Agra to the court of the aged and weary Queen Victoria (Dench). He is dazzled and his friend Mohammed (Akhtar) is disgusted by the luxurious absurdity of the British royalty.

       Abdul presents the gift he was brought to England to present. Against all odds the queen notices him, first his handsomeness, then his charm, and she demands that Abdul and Mohammed become her servants. Mohammed has nothing to do, Abdul becomes her constant companion. She is puzzled and enchanted with his ingenuous loquaciousness, his stories of India – its spices, its food, its history, its beauty. She asks him to teach her Indian. He starts teaching her the noble Urdu.

       Her staff and her son are appalled.

       It’s an utterly delightful film. And then it turns sad.

5 * of 5.